TROY >> Members of the police department and a relative of suspect Trinity Copeland, who is accused of murdering her father, Harlan Copeland, took to the stand Thursday, for the second day of testimony in Rensselaer County Court.

A Troy Police evidence technician and a detective who arrived at the murder scene during the early morning hours of July 13 both testified.

As described in Rensselaer County Assistant District Attorney Shane Hug’s opening statement, Det. Sgt. Tim Colaneri described Copeland’s disposition when he first spoke with her following the incident at 3022 7th Ave.

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Colaneri said he approached Trinity Copeland as she was sitting on the front stoop with a kitten and some neighbors. He testified she seemed calm and didn’t look disturbed at all.

When Colaneri said he asked Copeland to come down to the station to answer some questions since she was the only known witness, she didn’t give any pushback and agreed to go with him.

Colaneri also testified about the state of the apartment when he arrived around 6:15 a.m., saying that there did not seem to be any signs of forced entry.

The detective said he saw no signs of plying marks or cracks in the door that would indicate forced entry. Colaneri also said he checked the open window in the kitchen and saw there was dirt and dust covering the windowsill, which was undisturbed. Copeland had previously stated that her father red her a story that someone had broken into the apartment.

Copeland had also previously said to police that her father threatened to kill her if she didn’t shoot him.

Copeland said she pleaded with her father not to make her do it before she pulled the trigger of a shotgun and shot her father in the head, according to statements made to police. Those statements would not be read as Judge Andrew Ceresia suppressed the evidence as officers failed to give Copeland her Miranda Rights in a timely manner.

The jury also heard testimony from Trinity Copeland’s uncle, Joseph Exley. During his testimony, Exley said he received a call from her at 5 a.m. on July 13, informing him her father was dead.

Exley said Copeland told her “they” came in and killed her father, to which Exley said the police would find out who did this. The call then ended as Copeland said she had to go.

Exley, who is from New Lebanon, was also shown a photo of Harlan Copeland as he laid on his back on the couch, legs crossed with his arms on his abdomen. It was the way Exley said he usually would find Harlan Copeland, his brother-in-law, sleeping when he and Trinity in New Lebanon with her father.

It was the same position Colaneri testified he had seen Harlan Copeland in when he first entered the apartment during the early morning hours of July.

The day began with Michael Feit, defense attorney for Copeland, cross-examining Officer Matthew Beaudoin. Feit had Beaudoin walk the jury through which evidence he had collected.

Feit soon seemed to focus on the three cell phones found at the scene and how police only took two of them into evidence. Beaudoin said the one not taken did not have a battery in it.

“There was no attempt made to put a battery in the phone to see what info could be logged in it?” Feit asked.

“Not to my knowledge,” Beaudoin said.

Hug will continue his direct examination of Colaneri beginning at 9 a.m. today. Hug said he had planned to read all of Copeland’s grand jury testimony, which led to Feit requesting the footage of Copeland’s interrogation, parts of which were suppressed, be played in full.

However, Ceresia later ruled that while most of the video would be shown, one particular part would be suppressed.